Author
Topic: Condo development full of families with kids (Read 8426 times)

I'm a married mom of two little kids, we live in a huge high-rise condo that's packed full of young families, we have an online message board and when Sandy ravaged New York and killed 1 person here, in Toronto, no one in our development was worried that our city/condo development might lose power, the general attitude here is that "someone" will surely come and save us all in case of a similar disaster or it'll never be as bad as in New York. I'm pretty sure no one is preparing for anything, I know my neighbours well and pretty much everyone has the same attitude, some families here have 3 and even 4 kids but no one is thinking ahead, judging by everyone's "who cares, we'll be fine" views. No one knows that I'm storing and increasing my stores, I'm very careful but I can already envision neighbours with kids coming to my door to ask for food/water...

My mom has a large house 1 hour away from Toronto but it has gigantic glass windows and almost no privacy, with very crappy neighbours that tell on each-other to the city if they see anything, so going there will not be a safe option for our little family, so I decided that we'll stay in the condo, it's very large, we're on one of the top floors and don't have a balcony, which makes me feel safe and our front door (fire door) has been enforced with a brand new heavy-duty lock. My husband has a similar attitude as our neighbours unfortunately so I'm the lonely prepper in the family for now.

So far, we have 1 months' worth of water/food/supplies/first aid/waste disposal..etc I'm working on 6 months but what I'm really worried about is our neighbours... I KNOW they will ask for stuff.. I'm trying to weigh different scenarios and what to say/not to say to them.

I'm trying to weigh different scenarios and what to say/not to say to them.

First off, good for you for planning ahead. Your prepping shows your love and concern for you and your family.

As to what to say, given what you said about your neighbors....don't tell anyone about your preps. You may want to gently bring up in casual conversation that "hey, it might be good to take some precautions in case something bad happens" or you could even fib a little and say "You know, we probably should all do some preps, but oh no of course I haven't done any". I would only do this with people you have gotten to know and who have earned your trust somewhat. Plant the seed of self-reliance and being prepared; maybe it will influence them.

You may discover some like-minded neighbors who were too afraid to speak up because they didn't want to be thought of as "crazy survivalists". Even if you discover fellow preppers in your midst, I still wouldn't reveal everything you have since you live in a crowded condo.

The prepper term for what is necessary is OPSEC - short for "operational security," which sounds terribly official and formal, but basically means keeping your prepping activities secret.

Carrying this out may be easier said than done, especially if you have kids, who tend to blab to their friends. And if your husband doesn't take you seriously, he may do likewise, thinking of it as a bit of a joke - "Yeah, the "little woman" has this weird bee in her bonnets about becoming a survivalist or something."

The best practice is, as I say, secrecy. Don't worry about proselytizing, especially if it might compromise your family's and your own security. Keep in mind that if things get really bad, people won't be knocking on your door to beg for food, they'll be kicking your door down to take your food and whatever else you might have handy.

Short of major collapse scenarios, a month's worth of food and water should see you through just about anything you are likely to face - assuming that it doesn't get taken from you. There have been numerous reports of such incidents happening in New York and, in fact, they are continuing to happen is pockets as the situation worsens.

I'm sure other participants here will have other comments and suggestions. One thing I'm not clear on: Have you already let others know about your prep activities?

And by the way, welcome aboard! You aren't the only Canadian on this board, so don't feel too lonely!

I'm trying to weigh different scenarios and what to say/not to say to them.

First off, good for you for planning ahead. Your prepping shows your love and concern for you and your family.

As to what to say, given what you said about your neighbors....don't tell anyone about your preps. You may want to gently bring up in casual conversation that "hey, it might be good to take some precautions in case something bad happens" or you could even fib a little and say "You know, we probably should all do some preps, but oh no of course I haven't done any". I would only do this with people you have gotten to know and who have earned your trust somewhat. Plant the seed of self-reliance and being prepared; maybe it will influence them.

You may discover some like-minded neighbors who were too afraid to speak up because they didn't want to be thought of as "crazy survivalists". Even if you discover fellow preppers in your midst, I still wouldn't reveal everything you have since you live in a crowded condo.

Thanks for the reply, that's exactly what I said to a few neighbours last month, this only made most of them laugh, (I also did mention that I haven't done any preps) I really don't understand the "someone else will take care of us" attitude... I'm an immigrant from Russia, I learned very early on that you are the only person responsible for your own well-being, I don't believe in hand-outs, I'm teaching my kids to be very self-sufficient. Looks like we're on our own here, I will not even open our door, just sit tight and ride it out.

The prepper term for what is necessary is OPSEC - short for "operational security," which sounds terribly official and formal, but basically means keeping your prepping activities secret.

Carrying this out may be easier said than done, especially if you have kids, who tend to blab to their friends. And if your husband doesn't take you seriously, he may do likewise, thinking of it as a bit of a joke - "Yeah, the "little woman" has this weird bee in her bonnets about becoming a survivalist or something."

The best practice is, as I say, secrecy. Don't worry about proselytizing, especially if it might compromise your family's and your own security. Keep in mind that if things get really bad, people won't be knocking on your door to beg for food, they'll be kicking your door down to take your food and whatever else you might have handy.

Short of major collapse scenarios, a month's worth of food and water should see you through just about anything you are likely to face - assuming that it doesn't get taken from you. There have been numerous reports of such incidents happening in New York and, in fact, they are continuing to happen is pockets as the situation worsens.

I'm sure other participants here will have other comments and suggestions. One thing I'm not clear on: Have you already let others know about your prep activities?

And by the way, welcome aboard! You aren't the only Canadian on this board, so don't feel too lonely!

Thanks for replying and welcome!

Absolutely no one knows that I'm storing/saving stuff, I pretend to be a clueless immigrant, I'm very good at this My kids don't know that I'm doing any preps, I thought of importance of secrecy and since our condo is pretty large, I have a lot of storing spaces, I only organize and put away water/supplies/food when the kids are at school and everything is very well hidden. My hubby doesn't blab thankfully, he's a very private man and I got him to agree to prep for 6 months, he hates the cost involved but I finally got him onboard, I'm so relieved!

My plan is to simply stay quiet and not answer the door, I will make a recording of a very large dog barking and will turn it on to full volume every time someone approaches our door... I know, it sounds silly but I know this might scare some people. Would love any ideas

Hi everyone!...I decided that we'll stay in the condo, it's very large, we're on one of the top floors and don't have a balcony, which makes me feel safe and our front door (fire door) has been enforced with a brand new heavy-duty lock.

Hi to you, too!

How high up are you? I've never in my life lived more than 2 floors up. I can't imagine being higher. The thing that would worry me would be if during a winter power outage a lower neighbor accidentally sets the place on fire trying to cook food or keep warm.

This can & does happen. I used to know an elderly lady who almost set her apartment building on fire. The manager was not happy with her!

Even here in the boonies there is at least one house fire almost every winter by someone putting hot ashes from the wood stove in a cardboard box or paper bag and setting it on the porch. These are people who should know better.

We live on 24'th floor and have some limited access to the roof, our brand new condo building is very close to being fire-proof, if there is fire in one unit, the next unit will be more or less undamaged, but we can easily escape to the roof at any moment, this is why I feel safe here.

We live on 24'th floor and have some limited access to the roof, our brand new condo building is very close to being fire-proof, if there is fire in one unit, the next unit will be more or less undamaged, but we can easily escape to the roof at any moment, this is why I feel safe here.

I'm a coward where fire is concerned. Images from The Towering Inferno keep popping up in my mind.